Planning For Success: Resource and Transition Training [National Assembly Recap]
Event: Planning for Success: Resources and Transition Training
Presenters: Gary Bridgens, Vice President of Chapter Development
Jenn Shafer, Vice President of Regional Conferences
Veronica Mingrone,Vice President of Professional Development
Heather Harder, Immediate Past President
Tina McCorkindale, APR, National Faculty Adviser
Recap: A panel of PRSSA National Committee members along with their National Faculty Adviser explained all of the resources available to Chapters through the website that contribute to successful Chapter leadership transitions. National Committee members have many responsibilities, and one of those is to share all Chapter resources currently available.
PRSSA provides access to many handbooks online to help make every Chapter the best they can be. The Chapter Handbook offers guidelines for Chapter leadership roles and descriptions of roles to help with the election process. The Student-run Firm Handbook is dedicated to helping with the efficiency of student-run firms, as well as provides guidance on how Chapters can start a firm. The Regional Conference Handbook is a step by step guide on how to plan a Regional Conference. While the vice president of Regional Conferences is more than willing to help, this guide is a concrete plan to organize a conference as a Chapter. The FUNdraising Playbook is a great resource for finding a creative way to raise Chapter funds. The Career Resources Manual is structured in three parts: first, it lays out the different sections in public relations and its average salary, then provides tips on how to create a good resume, cover letter and portfolio and finally how to make the best out of your PRSSA experience.
The Style Guide and Brand Identity Guidelines are useful for Chapters and for all PRSSA members. The PRSSA National Bylaws can serve as a reference for those interested in starting a Chapter or updating their Chapter’s Bylaws. With all this valuable information, members and Chapter leaders can significantly improve their Chapters.
Takeaways:
- The resources are there for you to become a better leader.
- Each National Committee member is available to serve our Chapters and they love to help.
- Successful Chapters start with great transitions.
- Preserve what your Chapter does from year to year such as alumni lists, officer binders or letterhead files and make sure these documents are passed on to the next executive board members.
- One-on-one transition meetings are important for new executive board members.
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Molly Egelkraut is a senior studying public relations at Northern Michigan University. She is the vice president of public relations for NMU PRSSA. Follow her on Twitter, @mollyegelk, or connect with her on Linkedin.
